Officer Who Killed Rekia Boyd Not Guilty Of All Charges

The police officer who fatally shot 22-year-old Rekia Boyd in 2012 when he fired into a crowd was found not guilty Monday afternoon, the Chicago Sun Times reports.

Cook County judge Dennis Porter passed down the verdict that cleared Chicago Police Det. Dante Servin of all charges in the shooting. Servin, who faced charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless discharge of a firearm and reckless conduct, did not have to put on a defense during the trial.

“…Porter, in issuing his verdict, said Servin’s conduct was “beyond reckless” in the March 2012 shooting of Rekia Boyd. Therefore, “it would be improper to allow the trial to continue given the total failure” to prove recklessness, which was key to all three charges. “The evidence does not support the charges on which the defendant is being tried.”

Before announcing the decision, Porter told a courtroom of Boyd’s family members that emotion would not be allowed. “This is a place for reasoned decisions,” he reportedly said.

Shortly after his instructions, Boyd’s family erupted in tears and screams. Boyd’s brother, Martinez Sutton, reacted to the verdict in disbelief. “This motherf—– killed my sister,” he said as he was surrounded by deputies and led out of the courtroom.

Outside the courthouse, the family gathered to discuss the decision with reporters, crying and hugging as they spoke of what they call a “murder” on Servin’s part.

“He murdered my daughter in cold blood,” Angela Helton, Boyd’s mother said. Sutton cried as he gathered with family outside the courthouse. “When we walked in, we already knew we lost,” he said. “I thought that maybe the judge would grow a heart, but just like the Tin Man, he never had one. What exactly [does] that tell you? That tell you that anybody with a badge can get away with shooting any one of y’all out here. It’s not just about color anymore … It’s people wearing the badge disrespecting [their] badge,” Sutton said. “My sister was 22 years old. She would be 25 right now if she was living. She will never come back. We’ll never be able to hug and kiss her no more. We’ll never be able to say ‘Rekia, I love you.’…. We’ll never be able to see that smile again.”

Servin, 46, was off-duty on March 21, 2012 when he fired into a crowd of people near Douglas Park, killing Boyd and injuring her friend Antonio Cross. His attorneys maintained Cross reached into his waistband and pretended to have a gun. They also say Cross charged the detective. Chicago Police Detective Ed Heerdt testified that Servin believed he was “going to get shot” during the encounter. According to the Sun-Times, Servin called 911 to complain about the crowd “drinking, fighting and smoking drugs” near his home shortly before the shooting.

His attorney, Darren O’Brien, praised Monday’s ruling.

“The fact is the evidence did not support the charges in the case,” O’Brien said.

Boyd died from a gunshot wound to the head. Her mother received a $4.5 million settlement from the city for her death.